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''She-Devil'' is a 1989 American
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
film directed by Susan Seidelman and written by
Barry Strugatz Barry Strugatz is an American film director and screenwriter. Personal life Growing up in New York, Strugatz had an early taste for film, and began working on ''Hair'' as a production assistant in 1978. From there he continued writing several p ...
and Mark R. Burns. It stars
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
,
Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...
(in her film debut) and Ed Begley Jr. A loose adaptation of the 1983 novel ''
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil ''The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'' is a 1983 novel by British feminism, feminist author Fay Weldon. A story about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover, Weldon stated tha ...
'' by British writer
Fay Weldon Fay Weldon CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' The ...
, ''She-Devil'' tells the story of Ruth Patchett, a dumpy, overweight housewife, who exacts devilish revenge after her philandering husband leaves her and their children for glamorous, best-selling romance novelist Mary Fisher. The second adaption of Weldon's novel, after the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil ''The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'' is a 1983 novel by British feminism, feminist author Fay Weldon. A story about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover, Weldon stated tha ...
'' was broadcast in 1986, the film was shot amid the first season break of Barr's
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
sitcom ''
Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...
'', in New York City throughout spring and summer 1989. For a while, Streep, who was one of the first actresses to read the script, considered taking the part of Ruth herself but later opted to play Fisher instead, as she felt she had dealt with a similar subject in her previous film ''
A Cry in the Dark ''Evil Angels'' (released as ''A Cry in the Dark'' outside Australia and New Zealand) is a 1988 Australian drama film directed by Fred Schepisi. The screenplay by Schepisi and Robert Caswell is based on John Bryson's 1985 book of the same nam ...
'' (1988). Produced by Orion Pictures, ''She-Devil'' was released on December 8, 1989, and grossed $15.5 million at the box office. Critics praised Barr's and Streep's performances but criticized the film for its tone. Streep earned a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy the following year.


Plot

Frumpy, overweight wife and mother Ruth Patchett desperately attempts to please her accountant husband Bob, who is trying to boost his business. After Bob meets
narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...
romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...
ist Mary Fisher at a dinner party, they begin an affair. Ruth, aware of the affair, confronts Bob while his parents are visiting, and Bob leaves her. Angry, Ruth vows revenge on him and Mary. Ruth lists Bob's assets, representing his home, his family, his career and his freedom, planning to cross off each one after destroying it. With Bob away at Mary's and the kids at school, she procures Mary's financial records and overloads the electricity of the house, destroying the house in a massive explosion. She leaves the kids with Mary and Bob and tells him that she will not be returning. Bob's second asset, his family, slowly deteriorates, as Mary's selfish refusal to learn how to be a mother causes tension in her relationship with Bob and begins to interfere with her ability to write her newest romance novel. Mary's new novel is loosely based on her romance with Bob, but her publisher considers it strange and off-putting as there is a chapter about laundry. Ruth takes a job at a nursing home under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Vesta Rose, where she befriends Francine, Mary's foul-mouthed, estranged mother, and arranges for her to return to Mary's life at an inopportune moment. She also meets Hooper, a nurse who has worked for the nursing home for 22 years and put aside her earnings for a considerable life savings. Though Ruth horrifies Hooper by secretly switching the senior citizens' sedatives and mundane routines for vitamin and caffeine pills and enriching activities, she gains Hooper's trust by introducing her to desserts. After Ruth is fired from the home for dumping water on Francine's bed to frame her as a bed-wetter and prevent her return, she and Hooper form a partnership and start an employment agency for downtrodden women who have been rejected by society and need a second chance. The agency is successful, and the women Ruth has helped assist her in getting revenge on Bob. Olivia, an attractive but ditsy young blonde, applies to the agency, and she is hired as Bob's secretary where he starts sleeping with her at the office. This causes Mary to become lonely and desperate at night, which makes Bob rebuff her advances. When Olivia proclaims her love for Bob, he immediately dumps and fires her. Olivia reveals to Ruth that Bob is a fraudster who cons money out of his clients by skimming interest off their accounts, then transferring it to his offshore account. As Mary is being interviewed for a
puff piece In everyday language, puffery refers to exaggerated or false praise. Puffery serves to "puff up" what is being described. In law, puffery is usually invoked as a defense argument: it identifies futile speech, typically of a seller, which does n ...
by ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'', her mother reveals embarrassing secrets about her that effectively destroy her career. Olivia and Ruth hack Bob's computer to conduct a gigantic embezzlement, then report this to the IRS. Ruth also mails pictures of Bob bedding Olivia to Mary. Intent on regaining control of her life, Mary forces her mother and Bob's children to behave, then throws an elegant party with her friends. All goes well until state troopers appear with a warrant for Bob's arrest. Bob's lawyer bribes a corrupt male judge to ensure a favorable verdict, and unknowingly informs Mary that Bob has been stealing from her account as well, causing her to leave Bob and sell her mansion. A woman who gained employment as a court clerk via Ruth's agency repays Ruth by reassigning Bob's case to an unbiased female judge. Bob is convicted of
embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
and sentenced to 18 months in prison, thus destroying his fourth and final asset: his freedom. As Bob is taken away, he realizes that his greed, selfishness, and infidelity towards Ruth have left him with nothing. Sixteen months later, Ruth and her children visit a greatly reformed Bob, who is now on considerably more
amicable Amicable numbers are two different natural numbers related in such a way that the sum of the proper divisors of each is equal to the other number. That is, σ(''a'')=''b'' and σ(''b'')=''a'', where σ(''n'') is equal to the sum of positive di ...
terms with Ruth following their
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
and looking forward to catching up with his children after his upcoming release from prison. Ruth concludes that although people can change as Bob has, not everyone does so. Mary has revived her career by becoming a more mainstream author and is at a book signing about a new tell-all book, where she signs a book for Ruth but does not recognize her. Next in line after Ruth is a man whom Mary clearly tries to flirt with, indicating she has not completely changed her ways. The film ends with Ruth smiling as she walks down a busy street in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, accompanied by women from her firm.


Cast

*
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
as Mary Fisher *
Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...
as Ruth Patchett * Ed Begley Jr. as Robert "Bob" Patchett *
Linda Hunt Lydia Susanna "Linda" Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American actress of stage and screen. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in ''Popeye'' (1980). Hunt portrayed the male character Billy Kwan in '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' ...
as Hooper *
Sylvia Miles Sylvia Miles (née Scheinwald; September 9, 1924 – June 12, 2019) was an American actress. She was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969) and '' Farewell, My Lovel ...
as Francine Fisher * Elisebeth Peters as Nicolette Patchett * Bryan Larkin as Andy Patchett *
A Martinez Adolfo Larrue Martínez III (born September 27, 1948) is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap operas '' Santa Barbara'', ''General Hospital'', ''One Life to Live'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', and ''Days of Our Lives' ...
as Garcia *
Maria Pitillo Maria Pitillo (born January 8, 1966) is an American retired actress. She has starred in films and on television, most notably as Audrey Timmonds in ''Godzilla'' (1998). She also had a recurring role on the TV series '' Providence''. Early life Pi ...
as Olivia Honey *
Mary Louise Wilson Mary Louise Wilson (born November 12, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years, she has appeared in a number of plays, films and television shows. Wilson's most notable work includes a ...
as Mrs. Trumper * Susan Willis as Ute *
Jack Gilpin John Mitchell "Jack" Gilpin (born May 31, 1951) is an American actor. He currently portrays Church the Butler in HBO's historical drama series ''The Gilded Age''. He is the father of actress Betty Gilpin. Early life Gilpin was born on May 31 ...
as Larry *
Robin Leach Robin Douglas Leach (29 August 1941 – 24 August 2018) was a British entertainment reporter and writer from London. After beginning his career as a print journalist, first in England and then in the United States, he became best known fo ...
as himself * Nitchie Barrett as Bob's secretary *
June Gable June Gable (born June Golub) is an American character actress, perhaps best known for her role as Joey's agent Estelle Leonard in the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. She also played a Nurse in the delivery room in season 1 episode 23 “The One With The B ...
as Realtor * Rosanna Carter as Judge Brown *
Lori Tan Chinn Lori Tan Chinn is an American actress and comedian. She was a recurring character in the Netflix series '' Orange Is the New Black'' and currently stars as Awkwafina's Grandma on Comedy Central's ''Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'' (2020–presen ...
as Vesta Rose Woman *
Sally Jessy Raphael Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American former tabloid talk show host known for her program '' Sally'' (originally called ''The Sally Jessy Raphael Show''). Early life and education Lowent ...
as herself


Music

The musical score for ''She-Devil'' was composed by
Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...
. A soundtrack album was released on November 15, 1989, by
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
. Shore's score was later released in a limited edition of 1,000 copies by Music Box Records.


Reception

The film holds a 43% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 21 reviews; the average rating is 4.5/10. Streep was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single award for ...
.


Location

The film was shot on location at 161 Cliff Road, Port Jefferson, New York 11777. The house was destroyed in 2017, the 30-room estate belonged to Countess Nadia de Navarro-Farber, who died in 2014. The home was built in 1870, and was of 19,000 square feet. The countess lived in this home for over forty years.


See also

* '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995) — Tamil remake of this film


References


External links

* * * * *Location {{DEFAULTSORT:She-Devil (Film) 1989 films 1980s black comedy films Adultery in films American black comedy films American films about revenge Films about writers Films directed by Susan Seidelman Films scored by Howard Shore Films set in New York City Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Orion Pictures films 1989 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films